Minotaur

(2005 - revised 2011)

for horn and surround sound

Recorded live on March 26, 2011, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Josiah Boothby, horn. Concert "Polish Music: The New Generation".

Recorded live on November 10, 2018, SPLICE Festival II, Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Josiah Boothby, horn.

Electronic layer

The electronic layer was created in a series of Ambisonic field recording sessions, in collaboration with Seattle-based horn player Josiah Boothby. Josiah and I visited several indoor and outdoor spaces throughout Washington state. With the use of the Soundfield microphones we were able to fully take advantage of the unique acoustic properties of these spaces. During these on-location recording sessions, Josiah walked through the spaces and improvised several short sound sequences, utilizing extended horn techniques and right hand coloration. We listened to the responses of these spaces and looked for the most acoustically interesting paths. This original sound material was further processed and combined into a sequence of soundscapes.

Live performance

Minotaur gives the soloist an opportunity to fully demonstrate their virtuoso skills. It requires both imagination and courage to freely approach the pre-composed material, and to create a unique conversation between the pre-recorded soundscapes and the performance space.

The formative principle of this piece is heterophony combined with "directed" (guided) improvisation and the creative use of extended horn techniques. The written score is a selection of meeting points between the pre-recorded surround sound material and the live performance. The soloist is encouraged to wander off the musical material written in the score. The player should enrich it by freely utilizing right hand coloration, articulation changes, microtonal melismas and ornaments, while carefully listening to and interpreting the responses from the performance space. If possible, the soloist should walk through the space and at times become invisible, haunting the perimeter of the audience and occasionally leaving the space enclosed by the speaker array.

- Ewa Trębacz

Performer Notes

Different skills sets of each performer, exposed in various acoustic environments, create dramatic differences between performances and recordings of "Minotaur".

The soloist is given a lot of freedom in choosing ways to interact with the pre-recorded soundscapes and the material written in the score. Several decisions on how to apply ornamentation, articulation and right-hand coloration make each performance absolutely unique.

PREMIERE

September 20, 2005

48th International Festival of Contemporary Music

WARSAW AUTUMN 2005

Extra-High Voltage Hall, Institute of Power Engineering

Warsaw, Poland

Henryk Kaliński, French horn (live)

Josiah Boothby, French horn part in the electronic layer

Other concert recordings:

October 6, 2023, CWU New Music Festival, Ellensburg, Washington. Jeffrey Snedeker, horn. Binaural recording (microphone: CoreSound TetraMic).
December 8, 2010, Warsaw. Henryk Kowalewicz, horn.
January 10, 2012, Tacoma, Washington. Josiah Boothby, horn.
April 20, 2013, Northwest Horn Symposium 2013, Montana State University, Bozeman. Josiah Boothby, horn.
October 2, 2016, Montana State University Multimedia Series. Michael Nelson, horn.

Selected Performances

October 6, 2023	CWU New Music Festival, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA, USA. Jeffrey Snedeker, horn.
May 29, 2022	33rd Festival of Polish Contemporary Music "Musica Polonica Nova". National Forum of Music in Wrocław, Poland. Mateusz Feliński, horn.
November 10, 2018	SPLICE Festival II, Concert #4. Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. Josiah Boothby, horn.
June 11, 2018	Mostly Modern Festival 2018, Chamber Concert #2, Elm Hall, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY. Josiah Boothby, horn.
August 3, 2017	"Nonsequitur presents: Thea Farhadian + Ewa Trębacz", Wayward Music Series, Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle. Josiah Boothby, horn.
June 21, 2017	New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival NYCEMF 2017, Abrons Art Center in New York. Josiah Boothby, horn.
October 2, 2016	"Digital Immersion", MSU Multimedia Series, Montana State University in Bozeman. Michael Nelson, horn.
February 20, 2016	Seattle Modern Orchestra Benefit Concert 2016, Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Seattle. Josiah Boothby, horn.
September 30, 2015	41st International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), Lyric Theatre at the Murchison Performing Arts Center, UNT Campus, Denton, TX. Heather Suchodolski, horn.
April 22, 2015	27th International Festival of Kraków Composers, concert of the Electroacoustic Music Studio of the Kraków Academy of Music, The Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art. Paweł Cal, horn.
November 16, 2014	Constellation, Chicago: Frequency Series. "Open Borders Generation" concert tour. Jancie Philippus, horn.
November 14, 2014	University of Louisville, School of Music. "Open Borders Generation" concert tour. Jancie Philippus, horn.
November 12, 2014	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign."Open Borders Generation" concert tour. Jancie Philippus, horn.
April 20, 2013	Northwest Horn Symposium 2013, Montana State University, Bozeman. Josiah Boothby, horn.
January 10, 2012	Classical Tuesdays in Old Town: Wired for Sound. Tacoma, Washington. Josiah Boothby, horn.
November 16, 2011	The Last Minute - an evening of electroacoustic music and digital video, Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center, Seattle. Josiah Boothby, horn.
March 26, 2011	Polish Music: The New Generation. With guest artist, David Lynch. Event organized by the Polish Music Center at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Josiah Boothby, horn.
December 8, 2010	Ewa Trębacz's monographic concert within the festival "Portaits of Composers" (Portrety Kompozytorów), Warsaw. Event organized by the Polish Composers' Union. Henryk Kowalewicz, horn.
March 11, 2006	Josiah Boothby's solo horn recital, Brechemin Auditorium, University of Washington School of Music, Seattle. Josiah Boothby, horn.
October 27, 2005	DXARTS concert, Meany Hall, University of Washington, Seattle. Josiah Boothby, horn.
September 20, 2005	Premiere: 48th International Festival of Contemporary Music WARSAW AUTUMN, Warsaw, Poland. Henryk Kaliński, horn (live), Josiah Boothby, horn (electronic layer).